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Recently my Mom's car developed an oil leak up front and based on advice from Ricky their mechanic she bought a new car. Rather than deal with driving it to the dealer for a nominal trade in, she gave it to me.

This car has 52k miles and looks pretty good. There is a bit of rust on the exterior, but a lot more underneath.

It's the same W-body platform as the last three Impalas I owned, though this is the first W-body with the 3.8
Issue #1 - the oil leak

There was concern this was a power steering leak, but close inspection uncovered a small leak in the oil filter due to rust. I pushed a screwdriver into it with ease. That was a much easier fix though. My Mom drove it every week but not that many miles so best guess is that filter was 3-4 years old and with the salt in the snowbelt that was enough to rust out the filter.
Issue #2 - TPMS sensor

RR TPMS sensor has failed. I made a couple attempts at this but so far have not been able to get the car to recognize either of them. I've ordered another from another supplier, and I also want to try driving it a short distance then attempting the learning sequence - I seem to recall having that problem on other GM cars in the past. There was another tire with a slow leak at the bead which I was able to fix by breaking the bead off the rim an sanding down the bead.
Issue #3 - Front sway bar

To my surprise one stabilizer link was broken, and one of the sway bar ends was split. I found a video that showed how to remove this without having to lower the subframe. I was going to have Kurt weld the bar, but then I saw a new one with the stabilizer links for about $80 shipped.
Issue #4 - exhaust leak

The resonator has a thin outside layer made from a metal sheet, and it is separated at the join. There is a flange just ahead of it that was rested quite badly. I ground down the bolt heads to make that separation. I'm contemplating between a straight pipe to replace it or maybe get a cat back exhaust from a less rusted car at pull a part.

Issue #5 - chassis rust in LF

I did some inspecting of the chassis to make sure it was still sound. With the Acadia rust cancer surprises I didn't want to really do anything on the car until I knew it was sound. There is a fair amount of rust underneath but nothing I would call terminal. I can see a hole in the rocker panel under the driver, but the main rust issue was in the LF wheel well. The chassis there had a huge rust blister that I think needs attention. The plan here will be to make a metal patch panel and have Kurt weld it in. Its only the outside layer that looks compromised by rust.
Issue #6 - gas line leak

The gas lines were super crusty. Unfortunately when I was removing bolts for the sway bar tie down straps I touched a gas line and immediately smelled gas. Options I am considering include buying a plastic fuel line kit or fetching used fuel lines from a car at pull a part. I'm not really sure what I am going to do with this car but the first thing is to get these things in order. Up to the fuel line issue I was planning to crank through this fairly quickly, but now I'm going to pace myself a bit more.

updates: exhaust leak

Resonator had a hole in it. flange connecting downpipe to rest of exhaust was almost gone. Last Friday I was at pull-a-part and found a like new exhaust under an Impala. I had to get a 2.25" ID sleeve to connect it to the downpipe. Kurt welded that and one bracket on and it fit perfectly. I just want to start it before I put on the clamp and make it permanent. front sway bar

The new bar is in place. I'll bolt it in once I know I'm done with the gas lines. Being able to move it leaves some clearance to work on the lines gas line leak

At pull-a-part I looked at like 15 W-body vehicles. One was missing the fuel lines, one had aftermarket nylon lines, and the rest were all rusted beyond use. The nylon line kits are over $80 new, these were the right length, only issue is they bypassed the connector in back and connected it directly to factory nylon line that connects the main line to the tank. Proper connectors are on order. The exhaust and these lines were just over $70 total. chassis rust in LF

I cut out the rusted material, cleaned up the area and made a cardboard template. The metal is .070". Kurt has some scrap metal from industrial equipment I'm expecting a piece to arrive today. Once the metal is cut to match the template I'll have Kurt weld it in.

updates:

Exhaust is clamped up and complete. It is precariously close to the new sway bar with suspension at full travel, but it clears Front sway bar is installed.

Fuel line

I used the nylon lines from the junkyard car for the feed and return lines.
For the supply line I ended up using a metal adapter tube from the bundy fitting to the nylon. I acquired some of the metal clamps (like they use on CV shafts). I had bought a plastic fitting but it would not fit into the nylon tube despite a couple attempts to heat the nylon without wrecking it. There was some drama getting the bundy fitting to seal up properly. There was a spacer in the female end of the bundy connection and with it the female end would not snap into place on the male end. Ended up removing that spacer and putting in a couple o-rings to get the tension right.

For the return line I used the plastic bundy fitting, a short piece of 1/4 rubber 50 PSI fuel line and an metal tube adapter from nylon to rubber.

Chassis patch
I made a patch and cleaned up the metal for welding. On the inside I treated the metal with rust inhibitor. Welding is scheduled for Friday Issue #7: Brake noise
Did some experimenting and was able to replicate the problem with the engine off rolling and turning left which eliminated power steering. Then had Rhonda operate in the driveway and I walked alongside to confirm the sound was in the RF. It'll make the noise at like 2-3 mph.

Attempted to adjust the clips that help align the pads but that did not change anything. Ordered a rotor and a set of front pads. Issue #8: Interior noise
Driving it around a bit I started noticing a sound coming from inside the dash just to the right of the steering wheel. Sounds a bit like a flourescent ballast hum. Turns out its an interior temp sensor with a tiny fan that is now out of balance. I disconnected it and does not seem to have any effect on the HVAC. TPMS sensor
Switched out the Schrader valve I bought from Autozone and was unable to get the car to recognize it. I bought another sensor off eBay and installed that into the tire and it worked. The Autozone sensor supposedly worked at the same frequency, but the shape was different. I don't know the internals but something was different. The one on the left in the pic is the shape of the original.

Completed the list of repairs!

Had the car over to Kurt to get the patch welded in, and then I prepped and painted it.
Also tracked down the noise in the RF. I tried swapping the brakes between RF and LF and sound stayed on RF. Then fortunately the car was making the noise just rocking it in the garage. With that I removed the caliper and pads and it still made the noise. That told me it's the bearing - so I replaced it. On disassembly the speed sensor came off the hub and it was quite rusty in that part of the hub assembly.
Up next it needs a detail and then I think its going up for sale.